the strenght of will to protect
by Protector Fate
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki, after the battle with Madara Uchiha, is transported in a new dimension during the battle that will decide the future of Rias ; what will be the role of Naruto in the conflict between the tree factions?
1. Chapter 1

The strenght of will to protect

Naruto Uzumaki, after the battle with Madara Uchiha, is transported in a new dimension during the battle that will decide the future of Rias ; what will be the role of Naruto in the conflict between the tree factions?

The battle between Issei and Riser was near to an end. By now the victory of the heir of the phenix was very close, whereas Issei coludn' t tollerate the power of his sacred gear casue his physical weakness. In the moment, in which issei was going to win, hitting Riser , his force returned to his human state. At this point Issei was sure he lost his occasion to defeat the opposite, but he didn't give up; he has to win in order to protect Rias, but his phisics cant' tollerate another movement. Despite this, he tried to move with all his forces, but nothing happended; the blood escape from his mouth. The efforts was uselees and for the second time Issei could feel his failure:

" also in this occasion i couldn' t defeat Riser. Despite my effort to become stronger to proctect her, i failed. I' m so sorry Rias, i feel my forces fade away", Issei thought. Several seconds after in front of Issei, Riser grinning at him: " you simple devil, thought you were able to defeat me? Ah, a joke. I' m an immortal , and in front of you i declare Rias my wife" , and then he move near the pawn of the title of nobilty of Rias , hitting the face of Issei and declaring: " you have lost your tongue, or you are so weak to be unable to speack to me ".

In this moment, where the result of the fight seems clear, a black hole appears next to the couple, arousing the interest of the spectators of the meeting. From this hole, escapes a figure with blond hair, blue eyes and an orange cloak, in the middle of the fight.

Naruto, looking around, appears a bit confused about his position, not remembering his last momentes of the battle against madara, that appear suddenly in his mind and in particular the moment where Madara used kamui to him; with this knowledge , Naruto moved near the couple and, before he coul apporached them, Riser tried to hit him, whereas thought that nobody could interferee between him and his future fianceè, during the moment of the conquest of his trophy; but at his disbelief, Naruto stop it with a single finger, without showing any effort,and then push off the punch of Riser, approaching Issei, who still was in the ground. There is an aspect that hits naruto, the look of the eyes of this man, that shows determination and the will to fight, despite his poor condition, a look at which naruto remembered himself. Talking loudly, he asked to Issei : " why are you fighting so hard ?" , at this question, Issei answered: " i cannot lose, i have to fight for Rias; at the cost of my entire body, i have to win ", but after these words and the last attempt to get up, he lost cousciunsness. After that, Riser, still surprised his attack had blocked by a stranger, smield at the the defeat of Issei ; at this moment Rias, gladdened that Issei was saved, was conscious her destiny had been signed, but at her shock the stranger , a moment later, declared: " I dont' know what is this fight and where it is, but i cannot stay here in apart in a battle where a person, who is willing to sacrifice himself, I will substitute him (showing wiht his index Issei) as contender". To this strange situation, reclamed Riser, feeling the human nature of the new enemy: "you mere human, hopes that you cold defeat me? Moreover, you have to be very stupid to enter in a battle in order to help a perfect stranger to you, but I have to reclame my booty now and i don' t have time to entertain me with you ". To his surprise, Naruto didn't seem very striken by the speech of this devil, but replied: " i don't think a devil, with your pride, would have been afraid of a simple human, are you afraid of losing agianst me?". In the next istante, Riser, full of anger, was in front of Naruto, trying to hit him directly to his head , to finish this battle as sono as possible, but in the moment in with his shot was to connect to the enemy, he dissapeared to his sight. In this moment the battle was started; now the destiny of Rias was in the hands of Naruto; will he be strong enough to defeat Riser?


	2. Chapter 2

Last chapter

To this strange situation, reclaimed Riser, feeling the human nature of the new enemy: "you mere human, hopes that you cold defeat me? Moreover, you have to be very stupid to enter in a battle in order to help a perfect stranger to you, but I have to reclame my booty now and i don' t have time to entertain me with you ". To his surprise, Naruto didn't seem very striken from the speech of this devil, but replied: " i don't think a devil, with your pride, would have been afraid of a simple human, are you afraid of losing agianst me?".

In the next istant, Riser, full of anger, was in front of Naruto, trying to hit him directly to his head to finish this battle as soon as possible, but in the moment in with his shot was to connect to the enemy, he dissapeared to his sight.

In this moment the battle was started; now the destiny of Rias was in the hands of Naruto; will he be strong enough to defeat Riser?

Second chapter

Momentes later

The audience, who follows at distance, ready to the winning of Riser with the disatifection of Rias nobilty and of her brother, was surprised by the figure appeared, who revealed a simple human in his aura able to stop Riser punch, and even more from his declartion to defeat Riser in orter to protect someone unkwon, with the confusion in many faces of the presents, in the midst of which there is a smirk, belonging to Sirzechs, who was still hopeful about the break of the the marriage between her beloved sister and the heir of the clan of the phoenix; but, the main reason behind his smirck ,was another.

A sudden memory apperead in his mind at the declaration of the stranger to fight, reppresenting a moment in which, while he ate an ice- cream with his sister, in fornt of them appeared a couple, who exchanged a kiss before to return to the path. In front of this scene, a Rias in her childhood, appeared confused from the show, said: " oh, brother; do you have seen them? Why did they move the mouth near to each other?"

Sircherz replied " They are kissing, and this act represents the love between a man and a woman. This feeling can be compared to a simple puzzle, formed by only two pieceses. For each piece, there can be an only one missing piece and when the two pieces fit togheter, the puzzle is complete. In a similar way, when a person found a special person, falling in love, they feel completed, filling that hole percieved casue the sense of incompliteness due to the missing piece and" … but before finising his sentence , Rias asked, with the vivacity and curiosity typical of the children, missing the deep significance of his words " So , will i fall in love with a man in the near future? In this case, I want it to be like in the fairy tailes; saved by my blue knight, who fights against the bad, defeating the enmy and conquering my heart. And then, we will be forever happy and content".

In response to the innocence of Rias, Schirzers replied: " I' m sure you will find your lovely knight", stroking the red head of his sister, but trying to hide the sadness and the guilty, that pervaded his mood, for the future of Rias, signed by a contract of marriage with the heir of the phenix clan, necessary for future of the devil class; a necessity that in that moment seemed outmatched from the impossibility of Rias to choose who will be her future husband.

Recollecting to the present moment, Sircherzs thought " It seems that Rias found two knights, who fight for her; special that human intrigues me. I cannot feel the presence of any sacred gear in him. Moreover, his attitude in battle belongs to someone accustomed to fight from an early age. I just have to wait the continuation of this match, hoping that he could defeat Riser, succeding in where there Issei has failed; but if that human wins, Rias' choice will be negated in any case. Neverthless, this last possibility appears more preferable than the marriage with Riser".

Returning to the battle

Riser, after his punch was avoided by this human, remains astonished for a moment his opponent was able to avert from him, but, with his tipycal attitude of arrongance and pride, he sustained to himself the luck of his enemy, thinking that the next time he wouldn't have been so lucky.

Lookingh at the back of the human, in this moment he noted a written in kanji, that reported " Hokage", and wiht a smirk, trying to jeer him, he have stated : " Really, fire shadows? If this is your nickname, i' ll find an enemy even more ridicolous than the stupid pawn of Rias, who was convinced to create an harem for himself".

To this provocation, Naruto sayed :" it's only a title, but it's the meaning and significance behind it, that represent the difference between me and you".

" What are you saying? It' s evident the difference between us: a human destined to a slow death, as a sin to have interrupt my conquest, and a devil of high- class, as me, who will become the strongest Satana of all time, the king of all entire hell ", said Riser, with noticeable fury.

Naruto replied: " It' s clear the reason for which you will be defeated, your arrogance , but in first istance the reason for which fight".

After this words , Riser, blinded from his anger , attacked naruto immediately, moving with great speed at the sight of a human, but too slow for Naruto, used to the speed of the Raikage and of Madara.

In fact, Riser' s attempt to hit him failed for the third time, whereas his punch was still blocked by Naruto' s hand, and after an istant his face was punched by Natruto, knocking him a few feet away. Forn an external spectator, one of the contender was slightly bleeding from his face, but at the surprise of Naruto, the wound repaired immediately. Our favorite ninja udnerstood in this moment his enemy had a rapid rate of healing, an aspect he wanted to analyze. But his thoughts were interrupted from the laughter of his enemy, followed from a short speech " Not bad at all for a human; it seems that i have understimated you , but as you can see I' m an immortal, who can heal himself instantly". Thanking in his mind the adversary for these valuable informations, Naruto claimed " The only method i have is to valute myself your effective rate of healing", hoping his convinction based on his past fights, that any apparent invincibility hides weaknesses, was true also in this case.

In that istant, without a warning, he moved to Riser, and in a few moments, he was in front of him with a sword, preforming a swing that Riser only prevents for his rapid istinct but, to his surprise, Naruto after passing Riser, levered with the swing in the ground in order to effettuate a tour of 180° and, attempting with a second swing, he pierced the shoulder of the phenix, able to move enought to evitate the damage of his bowels. But the sofference form this wound, an istant later , appeared much stronger than expexted and looking to the sword, it reveals a blue lightning that covered it. The pain was one of the worst ever tested, gnashing the teeth as a consequence of the sufference, alleviated a few moments later form the fact that his opposite drew the sword from his body.

At this point Riser was relieved his enemy was so naive to not take advantage of the situation, feeling the process of regenaration reducting the pain, and convicning himself that this opportunity would have been the first and the last of his opponent to defeat him. Now was the moment to show finally the true power of the phoenix clan and to defeat the cockroach in front of him.

But the real reason was an other. Naruto, during the fight, was trying to get nervous his enemy, for eventually take advantage of his moments of lack of clarity, in order to finish the battle as soon as possible.

He was exausted after the battle with Madara, but, despite all, after having witnessed the will to fight of Issei and his stubbornness in protecting this person named Rias, he had decided that he couldn't stay on the sidelines.

But only after the beggining of the battle, he had understood the real loss of his chakra without the possibility, for the frst time, to restore it with the help of Kurama. After the second swing, all his muscles were contracts, and after every movement in the fight the fatigue seemed increasingly. His reserve of chackra was very low, just at the level of a high genin.

His decision to remove his sword was due to the following reason: the possibility to evaluate the capacity of healing of his enemy, without waste of chakra.

The only possibility of winning was finishing the battle in the next minutes, otherwise the defeat would have been inevitable.

In the meanwhile, inside his mind Issei was talking to Ddraig.

After the lost of coniouscness, he apperad in a supine postion in a darck place where nothing could be seen, a sort of limbo, recongized as his mental landscape. He refused the idea of having lost, remebrering the bet made to Riast that he intended to win at all costs.

During the night, a few hours before the decisive battle Issei was out in the open just outside the palace of the future husband of Rias, unable to sleep. Like the other members of the Rias' nobilty , he was invited to the engagement party at the castle of the family of the phenix, the same place where the day after the union between Rias and Riser would be sanctioned. But this situation was insupportable for him, for the fact that his bochou would be engaged in a relationship without love with a man, who didn't deserve her. In attempt to relax himself, looking at the moon which appeared so brilliant in total abbsemce of clouds, an apparent quiet that for Issei announced the oncoming storm, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him, and turning around he could see Rias approaching him.

Noting her presence, he asks her: " I see that you also have difficulty getting to sleep, eh"?, but to his question, there was no response. Her face was slightly lowered and before he could say anithing, he found himself embraced by Rias, who was squeezing him strongly, as it were their last meeting.

In order to calm and to give her comfort, he kept tightly wrapped around him. After several minutes, Rias moved away from the embrace, with much to the chagrin of Issei, saying " I don' t know what happended to me, I' m sorry Issei" . Issei could see the sadness in her green eyes, usually vibrant life. Speaking, in an attempt to calm her " Don' t worry for tomoroww, I'll defeat for sure Riser", but the effect on the mood of Rias was reverse respect to the intent of Issei, leading to worsewn her inner restlessness, just mitigated by the embrace .

In view of the meeting, she was always increasingly concerned about Issei, a preoccupation that caused a pang in her chest.

She was worried about her pawn.

Rias believed to have accepted her fate after the rating game; but the convinctin and the strenght to never give up of Issei and his will to fight in order to prtocet her, had fueled a hope of freedom from this costraint, which she believed lost.

But this simple hope could lead to serious injury or worse death , one of his precious servants.

The concern about Issei, who seemed to exceed that towards her forced engadgement, believed so stressffull to prevent sleep. Taking a breath of fresh air and approaching the fountain of the castle, deep in thought, she doesn' t notice the presence of issei, until she was a few feet away from him.

Before she coul say anithyng , Issei turned toward her and , not even paying attention to his statement, after a moment's pause, guided by her own unconscious, she had covered the distance beetween them and embraced him.

The warm feeling of security and protection perceived seemed to fade away all the worries and the cares, leading to a sensation of peace unexpected. But recognizing to be embraced, for an amount of time for her indeterminable, in an attempt to avoid the embarrassment growing, she pulls away from him, forcing her to apologize.

It wasn't the gesture itself to embarass her , but the intimacy behind it that, differently by her various strip made in his presence, harbored a much deeper meaning, creating a feeling of warmth inside her hearth that seemed to spread troughout her body, a sentiment she couldn' t identify.

After his declaration of winning against Riser, guided by her negative emotions that seemed to emerge again, she decided to make a decision that could change defintely her future. With apparent resolution,taking a short breath, she says: " Issei, i want you to refuse to fight tomorrow", declaration followed by an expression of surprise on his face, replicating immediately: "Why don't you want me to fight tomorrow? If i retire, you'll have to marry Riser ";

" Riser is too strong for you to defeat. I don't want to see seriously injured or even dead one of my precious servants, yet again my fault. Please surrender Issei. "she sayed, starting to cry after finishing the sentence and ,before she knew it, she could feel the fingertips of the hand of Issei removing her tears and moving the look in his eyes, she could percieve his determination and beleef.

He replied " Tomorrow i have to win. I will do it not only for yourself, but also for Akeno, Koneko, Kiba, Asia. All of them consider you not as a master, but as a special friend, who they wantt to protecte as member of their own family. In virtue of this, if tomorrow you marry Riser, giving up the upcoming battle, I will betry not only your confidence, but also that they have palced in me. And that is because i cannot give up, the same reason cause i cannot lose tomorrow. You have to trust me, Rias."

Seeing his determination, her previous apparent resolution seemed to melt like snow in the sun; resolution that immediately had given way to acceptance of the choice if Issei and the disappointment in herself for not taking into account the membres of her nobilty, indeed those who had become part of her family.

Approaching again Issei, she hugghed him for the second time,but with a different inner spirit, pronouncing the following words: " You are so stubborn that indipendently from what i say,you' ll face equally Riser tomorrow, isn't it? " she asked rethorically.

" I'll made you a bet: as a prize you will go on a date on me once returned to kuoh accademy if i defeat Riser. Besides a knight who saves a damsel in danger, always receives a reward in exchange".

For the first time in the last days, Issei could see a real smile on her face, followed fromt the declaration to accept his bet: " Sure. At the return to the human world, i'll go to a date with you. Promise".

But in resposne, with her surprise, thinking that Issei seemed to behave in a more mature manner, she assited at a strange show, that belonging to the usual Issei, the one infamous for being part of the trio perverse. It seemed to see the stars in his eyes, with his fist pumped in the air: " Finally in that occasion, I will able to touch the oppai of Rias".

Savoring in the present this attractive opportunity, he awoke suddenly because he seemed to perceive a noise from the surrounding environment, almost a whisper, that appeared familiar.

Throwing his gaze to his right, his eyes widened at the sight of his partner, Draig; the look of the dragon seemed annoied for some reason.

"Do you know how many times I tried in vain to call you?"

"Sorry, it' s just that i was remembering a bet", he replied, smiling nervously for the fear of the reaction of the dragon.

" I know it Issei, I didn't already say that I'm constantly in touch with your mind; as a result your every memory, dream or deep thought is shared wth me",

" Im' sorry. It seems that i've forgotten about it", sayed, scratching his head. But his frivolous attitude, in the next instant, was immediately replaced from a serious look, remembering his almost victory, not obtained becasue of his physical weakness, and as a result of the intervention of the asked with fear: " Can you tell me what's going on outside of my mind?"

" That blond guy, from what i can percieve, seems to be fighting against Riser, but he is on its last legs of his forces. I don't think that he has any chance of winning" said Draig, with sadness knowing the deep feeling, not fully understood by both, among his container, Issei and Rias.

Issei, while aware of his limitations, called for another possibility, with a growing sense of depseration in his voice : "please Draig, lend me your power once again. I cannot lose".

" I' m sorry Issei. In the current state your body can't tolerate my energy. If you want to fight, you can rely on your own strenght. Sometimes you have to be able to go back alone to the surface; you have to find in yourself the reason of your strenght if you want to have any hope of beating Riser".

At this point, the Craig' s image seemed to vanish and before Issei could complain about the mysterious words just conferred, he had regained the feeling of his body, perceiving the underlying land on which lay. Realizing that he was awakening, despite not knowing how to do, had decided that in any case he would continue to fight to the point of exhaustion.

Opening eyelids, the light hit his eyes so dazzling and before he could adapt his vision to see the battlefield, was able to hear the words expended by the blonde, who seemed to come to his rescue:

"It seems that i'll have to use your eyes, sasuke"

End of the chapter

Sorry for the 3 weeks of waiting for the second chapter. This is my first story, so please give me feedbacks about the stroy. All your criticisms and suggestions are welcome.


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